US facilitating delivery of 97.4 million vaccine doses

MANILA, Philippines — The United States government is facilitating the delivery of 97.4 million doses of procured and donated US-made vaccines to the Philippines by year’s end, US embassy counselor for economic affairs David Gamble said on Friday. Twenty-one million of the total number of doses is donated by the US to the Philippine government, he added.

Gamble told reporters that US President Joe Biden is committed to giving away COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.

“All over the world, President Biden is committed to giving away 1.1 billion vaccines. That’s three doses for every American. Here in the Philippines, the US has facilitated the donation of 21 million doses of vaccines,” Gamble said.

“Add the purchases that the Philippines is getting in our government through the programs that we have today, we’re coming up with 97.4 million doses of American vaccines that is going to be here in the Philippines by year’s end,” he added.

He noted that, by this week alone, the US government is set to deliver about four to six million doses of US-made vaccines to the country.

“So, the phase of the deliveries is picking up…We’re getting people vaccinated faster and faster so that’s going to be great for the Philippines. Kaya natin ’to (We can do this),” Gamble said.

The Philippines received on Friday 2,132,140 doses of Moderna vaccines, which were procured by the government, and the 661,100 AstraZeneca doses that were procured by the private sector.

Out of the total doses of Moderna vaccines, 1,384,280 doses were purchased by the government and 747,860 doses were bought by the private sector.

The latest vaccine deliveries bring the total COVID-19 doses received by the Philippines to 84,212,300.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III expressed optimism that with the continuous delivery of vaccines, at least 50 percent of the country’s target population will be inoculated by the end of the year.

Aside from Galvez, Duque and Gamble, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, A Dose of Hope project lead adviser Josephine Romero, AstraZeneca Philippines country president Lotis Ramin and Zuellig Pharma chief business officer Janette Jakosalem were present during the delivery of the vaccines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. – Rudy Santos